World Scientific Series in 20th Century Physics - Vol. 14
REFLECTIONS ON EXPERIMENTAL SCIENCE
by M L Perl (Stanford University)
This is a collection of important lecture and original articles and commentaries by Martin Perl, discoverer of the tau lepton and the third generation of elementary particles, and this year's Nobel Prize winner. This book contains a fascinating and realistic picture of experimental science based on the high energy physics research work carried out by him. Using reprints of his articles with his commentaries, the author presents the various aspects of experimental research in science: the pleasures and risks of experimental work; the pain and frustration with experiments that are useless or fail; the dreaming about experiments that were not carried out; the constant search for innovation and creativity in the work; and the special joy of discovery. The articles and commentaries range from the early days of bubble chambers and spark chambers in the 1950's to the author's present research, experiments at an electron-positron collider and a search for free quarks. The book is for the general reader as well as the scientist.
Contents:
- The Discovery of the Tau Lepton
- The Physics of the Tau
Lepton and Tau Neutrino
- Innovations in Experimental Methods and New Directions in Physics
- Essays in Physics
- Reflections on Experimental Science
Readership: General readers interested in science and high energy
physicists.
"... the real jewels in this book are Perl's personal comments and reflections, which appear both as prefaces to each paper and as separate essays. With these he puts the flesh and feeling on his experimental work and on the field as a whole ... Perl's approach and taste in particle physics is refreshing. He has produced a rare book that provides reflection for his colleagues and inspiration for young experimentalists."
Jasper Kirkby
CERN Courier, 1996 |
| 552pp |
Pub. date: Dec 1995 |
|
